Pokémon: Crimson and Cobalt
by Waxing Shadow
Summary: It's been two decades since the events of Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green, and the playing field has changed in the Kanto and Johto regions in more ways than one. Join four trainers as they start their unforgettable adventures!
1. The Championship, Part 1

Pokémon Crimson and Cobalt

 _There once was a Trainer named Red…_

 _A very special Trainer he was…_

 _He amassed a veritable army of all known creatures that cover the earth, colloquially known as Pokémon._

 _He completed the Pokédex, a high-tech encyclopedia, all while foiling the Gym Leaders of the Kanto Region along with the nefarious Team Rocket and its boss, Giovanni._

 _He then bested the four most powerful Trainers in the region and his rival, Blue, for the ultimate prize of Pokémon League Champion._

 _He would go on to be what many people believe to be the world's greatest._

 _He would train tirelessly on a mountain in the neighboring region of Johto until he was summarily bested by an up-and-comer by the name of Ethan. What came after for Red is but a mystery._

 _What many people forget is what happened next…_

The one thought raced through Ralphie's mind as he raced to his seat with his concessions tray.

 _Man, I hope I'm not too late! If I don't make it back to my seat in time, I'll miss the Grand Finals, and I don't want to miss second of the action!_

By the time he actually got to his seat, the packed Saffron Stadium was in an uproar to the point that the emcee could barely be heard.

"And we're back, folks! The final round of the Gym Masters Division of the Pokemon World Tournament is about to begin, and with Misty and Regis on tap for us, we should see sparks flying between both competitors!"

The crowd ramped up what felt like another thousand decibels, and Ralphie thought that any second his ears would explode, but, strangely enough couldn't care less. Any second now, he was going to witness the battle of his life!

Both doors on the opposite sides of the playing field opened to reveal an orange haired woman in a swimsuit type outfit and thin jacket on the left side with a purple haired young man in a white sparkling suit on the right. Both gave their acknowledgment of the crowd and stared each other down, intense looks on both of their faces.

"Well, well, well! It seems that Sabrina did decide to hand things over to you."

The boy smiled gracefully at Misty's remark. "Indeed, she did. It's just the same that auntie couldn't be here in person. In any case, I look forward to matching wits with you."

"Hey, you too!" Her smile faded as she got out her first Pokéball. "But don't you dare think for a second that I'm going to go easy on you. All of my Water-types give it their all to get this far, so I'm not holding anything back on you!"

"Wouldn't expect anything less," was the boy's response as they shook hands."

The referee walked in, and with three quick gestures, started the match. Ralphie was on the edge of his seat.

The first two Pokémon on the field were Misty's Golduck and Regis' Alakazam, respectively.

"Well, it's your hometown, so it's your move," Misty offered.

"Don't mind if I do." His smile turned into a smirk. "For starters, let's see what item you have on you. Thief!"

The PSI Pokémon tossed one of its spoons at the jeweled starfish, aiming for a direct hit. To counter this, Misty ordered a Water Pulse, aimed at the floor. Upon getting the appropriate height, Starmie used Rapid spin to become a living shuriken shot right for its opponent.

"Out of the way, quick," Regis shouted. Managing to dodge the attack, his Alakazam retrieved his spoon via telekinesis. It then lined up another Thief attack, only to be blasted by concentrated bundle of chilling cold. Ice Beam knocked it back a few feet, but it shrugged off the blow with ease.

"I've got another surprise," the swimmer declared. "Eat this. Signal Beam!"

The wave of Bug-type energy lashed at Alakazam relentlessly, dealing heavy damage. Luckily, Regis seemed to know just what to do. "Disable."

The sea star glowed with a red aura, signifying the effect of the attack. It wouldn't be using that move anytime in the near future, and that suited Regis just fine.

Misty gritted her teeth, but her determination wasn't weakened. "Not bad, but don't underestimate me. My Water-type Pokémon are tough!"

What came next was a barrage of Water Pulse attacks, all dodged except two, which merely grazed their target. The last attack met empty space. Both trainer and Pokémon looked frustrated.

 _Where did he go?_ Ralphie wondered very briefly before he got his answer, in the form of Alakazam reappearing with a darkness infused spoon that slammed right into the back of Starmie's midsection (such as it was). Three more swats came, with them all landing plush.

"Starmie, get him off you! Rapid Spin!" The attack both brushed the opposition off and did a little damage in the process. It lined up for another attack. "Thunderbolt!"

The psychic did you react fast enough to teleport away and took quite the shocking blast. It wouldn't have been much of a problem considering Alakazam's high Special Defense, except that the attack came with an unwanted gift: paralysis.

Misty crossed her arms. "Looks like your Alakazam's a sitting Psyduck… Or should I say, Golduck. Starmie, return!" The starfish promptly disappeared in a ray of red light. In exchange, said Golduck took the field, looking fierce as ever. Regis could only grimace as he looked at his new opponent. He knew what move that thing could be packing very well: Shadow Claw.

Misty, on the other hand, was much more pleased with her situation. "I've had you on the ropes this entire battle so far, and now it looks like your Alakazam is about to disappear in its own little magic act!"


	2. The Championship, Part 2

Pokémon: Crimson and Cobalt (2)

"Whoa!" the emcee shouted, barely audible over the raucous crowd. "Looks like Misty's expecting that Golduck of hers to be her 'ace in the hole', so to speak! That smirk she's wearing cannot be a good sign for her opposition. I have a feeling we're about to see firsthand the Cerulean Gym Leader's all-out offensive policy when it comes to water -type Pokémon!"

True to the announcer's words, the second it was on the field, Golduck rushed at its opponent, claws encased in shadows. In self-defense, the Alakazam unleashed a volley of telekinetic energy, revealing its third attack as Psychic. The hit landed plush, but the duck still took it relatively easily. What came next was a flash of Confuse Ray. The barrage of Shadow Claw slashes as well as the constant damage the psychic took by its own self-damaging attacks was enough to finish it off.

"Don't feel too bad," the swimmer told her opponent as he recalled his fainted partner. "Not many people can get past my Golduck. There's a reason I don't use my real team in official gym battles."

To Misty (and everyone else's) surprise, a smirk appeared on the young trainer's face. "Perfect."

The girl's eyebrow raised. "Perfect? From where I'm standing, you're down, three to two."

"I just needed to get a good understanding of who I was fighting. It's nice to know that every Pokémon you sent out today has been faster than mine."

"And, how does that help you again?"

Regis picked out a Poké ball caressing it in his hand. "You see, you're not the only one with an ace up their sleeve. I have one, too. Meet Exeggutor!"

The Pokémon in question appeared out of its capsule. The three-headed living coconut tree stomped around giddily, eager to battle.

The swimmer tilted her head in confusion. "I'm still waiting…"

"Well, wait no more! Trick Room!"

With that, Exeggutor sent out a pulse of psychic energy so strong that it warped the physics of time and space in the battlefield. It was now enclosed in a cage like structure, and true to the room's effect, Golduck was slowed to the point where its opponent could move faster than it.

"That won't save you. Shadow Cl— "

"Barrage."

A small round of black spears shot out from the Coconut Pokémon's mouth and hit, much to the opposing Pokémon and trainer's annoyance.

"Really?"

"That was just a distraction," declared Regis. "Hypnosis."

The hypnotic suggestion came immediately, and try as it might, Golduck couldn't resist the sleep that came. The living palm tree started to charge up an ominous beam of energy from the sun. It was safe to say that the future wasn't looking bleak for Misty so much as it was looking way too bright.

Meanwhile, back in a fairly quiet Viridian City, one girl couldn't look away from her TV. On the eve of her 13th birthday, another future trainer by the name of Bella was captivated by the action going on her screen. That didn't stop her, however, from screaming frantically for her mother.

"Mom! Mom! Hurry up, you're missing everything!" The brunette made a point to over hover over every syllable of 'everything'.

"Coming, sweetie!" The response echoed back from the ground floor downstairs for what felt like millionth time. Bella's mother had been cooking for a while now, but to the girl herself, eating could wait however long this match lasted. This was just _too_ good.

Back on the field, the beam of energy came down with no resistance, as no amount of screaming Golduck's name roused it from its slumber. Both trainers cringed as their vision was obscured by a bright flash of yellowish green. The duck never stood a chance. Misty grimaced as she looked over her fallen friend.

"Thanks, Golduck." With that, she recalled her Pokémon. At this point, she could have easily switched out into Starmie and bet it all on a Signal Beam managing to hit. Or at least, that's what one would think she would've done. Instead, the next fire to come out shocked the entire building.

"It's a… Togekiss?!" Even the emcee couldn't hide his surprise. Being a water- type specialist, everybody had expected all Pokémon of that type. This was the exact opposite.

"I didn't know you had one of those," Regis mumbled, barely audible over his own shock. The swimmer merely smirked, somewhat enjoying making her opponent sweat.

"Yup. And if memory serves me, Flying beats Grass, right?"

The boy responded by ordering Exeggutor to throw out a Hypnosis. The bird swiftly dodged the attack before countering with a Brave Bird. The attack's incredible force slammed its target against the opposite stadium wall. Exeggutor was down and out!

"No…" Regis recalled his partner robotically. He looked like a kid who'd failed a test. "Looks like I have no choice. Let's go, Poliwrath!"

A large, round biped with a swirly chest and angry eyes took the field, more than raring to go judging by its constant posing. Regis looked more than a little mortified by this.

"So, I guess I'm not the only one here capable of playing against type. Interesting. Your Poliwrath looks as I've ever seen one, by the way."

"Thanks," he said, smiling for the first time in a little while.

"You do know, of course, that it stands no chance against my Togekiss, right?"

"On paper, no. If I'm being really honest, I really didn't want things to have to come to this. But as long as there's a chance for victory, I'll never give up!"

"I like your spirit, kid. Too bad I gotta wrap this up. Now! Aerial Ace!"

The spotted bird vanished from view before hammering its opponent with a barrage of nearly invisible strikes with its wings. Just when the bird was about to land the killing blow, Regis ordered a Hypnosis just seconds before impact. It hit, sending Togekiss spiraling down into dreamland.

Regis didn't waste a second. "Psychic."

The sleeping Pokémon was caught in a blue aura of energy as it was thrown around the battlefield repeatedly.

"Come on, Poliwrath! Don't let up until it's over! We cannot risk letting that Togekiss wake up!"

The soul kept coming, but unfortunately for Regis, his opposition managed to wake up. To make matters even worse, it was still relatively healthy compared to the barely conscious tadpole that he was staring down at. The swimmer grinned in satisfaction.

"Sorry. Too little, too late. Aura Sphere!" The massive ball of energy came way too quick for Poliwrath to dodge. Both him and Regis had lost.

The emcee promptly stepped in, and declared Misty as the winner. Meanwhile, Regis congratulated her as well as his own Pokémon for the former's victory and latter's good fights.

 _Amazing! I've never seen a battle like that. Just makes me more stoked to become more like him._ The thoughts that come naturally to Ralphie, as this battle had reminded him of the type of down- to-the- wire battles that his idol, Red, participate in back in his prime. Still, his battles never got this heated. He was about to see if he couldn't sneak backstage to get a few words for the both of them when he heard a helicopter hovering overhead. As the sound became louder and louder, all eyes pointed toward the now disturbed night sky.

"Bravo indeed. That was certainly with my time. It's always good to scout out any potential enemies so they can be disabled as efficiently as possible."

"What the?! Who is that?!" The emcee cried, not sure where the ominous voice from a megaphone was coming from.

The two competitors backed away as the copter landed right in the center of the battlefield. A rather short man wearing a business suit came out with an emotionless, icy stare. His frown turned into a smirk as he stepped forward.

"Hello, Kanto. I'll bet you're wondering who I am. Let's just say, I'm a blast from the past that's going to ensure that the present and the future are a little more…progressive."


	3. Darkness Returns to Kanto

Chapter 3

Disturbed murmurs echoed throughout the stadium and mimicked the very ones coming from those watching at home. After almost 2 decades of peace, few people could remember a time when gangsters roamed the streets stealing people's Pokémon. Now, all of a sudden, some man in a business suit presumes to land his helicopter right inside a battling coliseum inside a major city, announcing that is going to make big changes. No one could believe it.

"What… exactly do you want?" The emcee now spoke in his normal voice, trying to keep his own heart level.

The man didn't look at him, instead looking at the audience as a whole. "For those of you wondering, you may refer to me as 'Nessler'. Of course, soon enough, you'll be calling me your new ruler.

"Ruler? That's a real nice joke, now get out of here!"

Catcalls from the crowd effectively saying the same thing echoed throughout the night sky. With the crowd behind her passionate words, Misty continued her discourse.

"You don't have a right to start marching in here making demands! For your information, the regions of Kanto and Johto are governed by a joint Senate and House of Representatives. We are a republic, not a monarchy. Once you go home and read a book before we have security for you out and maybe scrap that helicopter of yours."

More cheers for the swimmer echoed. Nessler didn't look intimidated in the slightest. In fact, what he did do was take out a Poké ball and start moving in between his palms.

"You really don't understand the situation that you're in, do you?" Chuckles escaped from the short man as said this and he released the mystery Pokémon from its container. It was a Primeape.

"Oh, so you want to battle, is that it?" Misty called out her Starmie.

"Oh?" At that moment, the strangest thing happened. Nessler actually walked toward Misty's partner as if to inspect it. "That is indeed, a Starmie. Well raised, all the trimmings, even a decent glow on its jewel." He promptly walked back to his own Pokémon.

Misty's look of irritation only festered as she watched this display. "Well, are you here to fight or just to gawk?"

As all of this was happening, Regis tried to read the man's mind, but to no avail. Either he himself was losing his touch, or this man was specifically trained against psychic mind reading. He wanted more than anything to believe the former.

Nessler glanced at the psychic, as if annoyed by something. "Reading my mind won't work, you know. I'm very used to psychic mind probes from both humans and Pokémon, and I'm well able to defend against them." Nessler turned back to Misty. "As for you, I'd be glad to have your Starmie fight my Primeape. It'll give me plenty of time to show of what makes this partner of mine so special."

"Fine then!" Misty huffed, sick of Nessler's posturing. "Let's go! A big Psychic blast can easily take care of any Primeape!"

The starfish glowed blue as it readied its attack. Nessler pushed a button on a remote control he took out and an electronic collar appeared on his Pokémon's right arm, just below its natural armband. To his shock and surprise of everybody, it lunged forward with a Sucker Punch. There was no mistaking it. That Primeape just used a move it could never learn, not by breeding, not by teaching, not by TM, and definitely, not naturally.

"What in the world?" The emcee shouted. "That's impossible…"

"Not for me," Nessler countered, "or any of my Pokémon for that matter thanks to my little invention here. With this, any Pokémon I choose to learn any move I desire for it to, obtainable by normal means or not." He turned to his partner. "Show them. Shadow Punch!"

The monkey lunged in and slugged its opponent with a fistful of darkness. The already weakened starfish was now down for the count.

Nessler merely smiled, more at the audience's reaction than anything else. "Well, well, well. It seems that now got your attention. Would've done here today is basically throw out type matchups. They're all out the window. Oh, and don't think that this is all that this device can do.

"There's more?" Regis asked, now physically shaking in a mixture of anger and fear.

"Oh yes, there's more." Nessler then looked at his watch. "Does time ever fly when you're having fun. I have a meeting to get back to, but before I go, I leave you with this proposal: you scrappy little Republic now and name me ruler. Common people, trainers and Pokémon will be more powerful than ever. Soon, the region of Kanto will be the most powerful place in the world. It will be the most technologically advanced one as well. Everybody wins."

The emcee finally found the courage to speak up. "And if we don't?"

"Glad you asked. This little gift I'll leave you should answer that question." As Nessler's helicopter began to take off, Primeape pounded the ground, causing cracks to spread throughout the arena. A fissure was opening up! Nessler left at that, fleeing the scene with his partner in the copter.

Pandemonium. That's the only word that could describe the situation that Ralphie was seeing around him. Terrified crowds of people moved like the violent waves of an ocean as the place they were safely seated in not five minutes ago while watching the battle of the century was now poised to become their tomb. It was more than a struggle to spot his mother amidst the panic, but she just happened to be screaming at a security guard animatedly, presumably about finding him. Her words when she finally got a hand to him were very to the point.

"Come on! We need to move and move NOW! The sooner we find the car, the farthest and fastest we can pack up and move."

"What?" Robbie wasn't sure if he'd heard her right.

His mother continued to drag him by the hand to the nearest exit, fighting off the sea of ear rending screams and other panicky mothers. "We're moving! As fast, and as far away, as possible."

"But I—"

By now, they were in the arena's large parking garage which still played host to plenty of chaos in its own right. The building was separate from the main stadium, but it had taken some clear structural damage as well. Ralphie's mom looked at her son with eyes full of both fear and a grim determination. This truly wasn't up for debate.

"Get in the car."

Ralphie did so without hesitation. The ensuing car ride was gripped with fear and anxiety. The air in the car felt shockingly stale. Neither of the two could move, nor think. In fact, it was as if the car was on autopilot the whole time. Ralphie's mother's demeanor became eerily quiet. What few looks back she spared told the story of the level of trauma she had just bore witness to. It only took a quick look back at the now crumbling stadium they were just in for a Ralphie to start thinking very grim thoughts. How many people could survive that? The majority of the Pokémon League have been in attendance for the tournament. Challengers for the League had been turned away for today just for this event. Not to mention the tens of thousands of spectators that had come to attend. Before they could begin to overtake him, he desperately shook the bad thoughts away.

"Get your things, Raphael." His mother's words were chilling and devoid of life. They were back in their house in Vermilion now, but it was clear that they felt no safer. Ralphie didn't move even though he heard the words. In fact, he didn't even blink. He barely even processed the fact that he was crying now.

"Go," the mother ordered, but didn't bother to press any further after her efforts yielded no results. Instead, she brought the boy to the couch and let him collapse, eyes still wide open in horror. She joined him. Ralphie's only thought was whether or not the two of them could just exist on that couch forever, because there was nothing that either of them would've rather done at that point.


	4. The Press Conference

It was official. Bella Longwood now lived in a world gone mad.

The once sleepy town of Pallet had, in the space of a single night, become a veritable sea of humanity. Police had encountered quite the time trying to prevent a full-scale riot. From what she could see, no TV camera could even get a good look at the situation. There were people literally floating into the tiny town riding on planks of _wood_. What few Pokémon could even squeeze in were just as panicked as their human counterparts.

By now, All of Viridian was at a standstill, waiting with baited breath for what one of the pillars of the known world, yes, the esteemed professor that had succeeded previous professor Samuel Oak, would say about this crisis. Both mother and daughter shared their fixation on their living room TV.

"Ahem. May I have your attention please?"

Initially, the professor's words were barely heard amongst the frightened cacophony. One megaphone silencing by an Officer Jenny later, the murmurs died down quickly. The speaker was a tall, middle-aged man with a dark complexion and a very serious look on his face. His hazel eyes seemed to pierce through the camera itself.

"Thank you, ma'am. As you know, one of the greatest catastrophes in modern history just befell the Pokémon battle stadium in Saffron last night. As fewer of you may know, I am the very recently inducted professor of this region. Professor Albert Redwood."

The people in the crowd exchanged looks, as did Bella with her mother.

"I wish that, under better circumstances, we could've done the whole introduction song and dance, but we need something different right now. In any case, if any of you are wondering what I intend to do about this, don't worry. I've already contacted some of the best defense this region's got: our gym leaders. They've already been alerted to the problem, and if what we saw at the stadium happens again, I've given special instructions on how to handle that.

"What instructions? H-How do even know what we saw regarding those moves was real?" The voice came from a reporter within the midst of the bunch present."

To everybody's surprise, the professor glared straight the reporter, looking none too pleased. "Let's see now. Judging from the reports I've gotten, we've seen about 10 dead, approximately 2 to 3000 injured, and about 2 million in damages… outside the stadium alone. Do you really want to play this game, Fedora boy?"

The reporter just stared at him, open mouthed for a second before shutting up and backing away. Several more questions pelted the man, and he answered them without a second thought. Not a shred of hesitation was in his voice.

 _That's the new professor?_ Bella fought as she looked on in the proceedings.

"Hmm. They said that the new professor had a certain bite to him, but I guess I really didn't know what they meant by that…" Bella's mother mused quietly, mostly to herself.

The conference went on. After a few more questions, Redwood got things under control. "Look, if you want any more questions answered, I'll gladly direct you to my secretary, Valerie." He gestured to the sandy haired woman that had been wordlessly standing next to him since the conference began. While it wasn't unusual for a professor in any given region to have an army of scientists that they employed at their beck and call, it was rare for a professor to have a secretary run the numbers for them. It was an option that only Elm had made use of before he came along.

"Hello to you all." The woman said simply, bearing a light British accent. "I will be handling things on the account of Prof. Redwood here. If there's anything more you'd like to ask, please direct your queries to me."

When the woman had finished speaking, Redwood wrapped things up. "I'm well aware that these are trying times, but just as we did 20 years ago, Kanto will come back from this, stronger than ever. Rest assured, there's no need for panic. Together we will all see to it that this character ends up exactly where he belongs."

Unbeknownst to anyone else, however, the very man that now had a target on his back had been sitting pretty in his office at an undisclosed location, watching the proceedings. A smile had crept up on his features that only grew as he watched the middle-aged man rant and rave, making promises he couldn't keep.

"You know, this juice tastes just a little bit bitter. Marne, be a dear and patch me a fresh batch. Imported." He hadn't even had his eye on the TV for the last bit. He instead handed an empty wine glass to the woman in question, an elderly lady pushing her 70s. She begrudgingly took the glass.

"Now, now. Don't look at me like that." Nessler barely flinched at the disdainful glare the old woman shot back at him. "It's just juice. Not anything too difficult."

She didn't move. Instead, her countenance changed from mere disdain to a look that said-and wanted to do—horrible, horrible things. The tears going down her face weren't lost on Nessler, either.

"Marne… Look, I'm a reasonable man. You still a little… disturbed about your Farfetch'd?" His words flowed easily like a pristine riverbank, but both of them knew that he meant business. It was made clear from the very beginning of this little arrangement that Marne would like nothing more than to kill him where he stood. They both knew that it wasn't going to happen, but the mob boss was more than happy to let her dreams be dreams. He had other things to focus on that didn't involve some old hag that just happen to have a granddaughter that really had a face for TV.

A growl was her reply. She turned on her heels and left. He looked around for a second, and realizing nobody was there to look in on him, took out a Poké ball from a compartment on his belt. He stared long and hard at the quarters of what he considered his only friend. It was funny how things worked out…


	5. Green Beginnings

**The next day…**

News of the incidents on the mainland had yet to reach a sleepy Fortune Island. The small archipelago might have been considered a territory of the Kanto region, but it was nowhere near as technologically advanced: it citizens lived a relatively slow, sleepy life amidst the small village and various forms of wildlife. They had some access to modern technology, but many people lived a rural lifestyle, choosing to live, at least partially, off of what they could grow. Others chose to do what they could with the abundant shipments of crops and such from the mainland. It was especially convenient for working families, not unlike the one belonging to one Greg Hathaway.

The 16-year-old was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware that it was way past the time that he should've been up. In fact, the alarm clock he'd set never went off.

With a stir, his eyes fluttered open. After mumbling incoherently for a few minutes, his eyes went wide as saucers.

"Wait a minute. It's 9 AM. I missed the ferry!"

For once, he was grateful that his house didn't have any stairs because he would've tumbled down them with the speed at which he was running. Unfortunately for him, his parents had already left for work. If he didn't think of something fast, they were going to run out of Pokémon to give out!

Hastily getting showered and dressed, he ran outside and bolted toward the closest sailor he could find.

"What is the next ferry come in?" He had realized too late that he spat in the sailor's face in his fast talking haste. The man took no offense to it, strangely enough.

"Kid, didn't you hear? The commuter ferries are out of service today. Maintenance day."

"No!" He muttered to himself, frustrated. "Look, man. I have been waiting for this day for what feels like ages. My younger brothers and sisters managed to get their trainers licenses and Pokémon before I did. I really, _really_ want to start my journey today! Are you sure there isn't some other way to get to Pallet from here?"

The man thought for a moment, his eyes darting around. He spotted a tanker with cargo on it, no doubt headed for the mainland. He mumbled something along the lines of 'I sure hope I don't get fired for this' before asking Greg to follow him.

The next thing he knew, Greg was in a large container, filled with a lot of things that could very well crush him if he were careless with the way he moved. Yet, his thoughts were very much occupied by thoughts of which starter he would pick. He'd heard that Bulbasaur was easy to raise. There was also Charmander, which could evolve into an awesome Charizard. Then there was Squirtle, which could be fun in its own ways. And then there were the rumors. Rumor had it that recently, two new starter possibilities have been put into the rotation to hand out trainers. There was no consensus on what they were, but just the thought sent his stomach turning. Or maybe that was just the seasickness…

They landed after what felt like an eternity. Seconds after docking on Pallet Town, he hastily said thank you and goodbye to the seller and dashed to the Pokémon lab.

He burst into the lab to find it void of the beginning trainers that he expected to see. Only a few scientists were in the immediate area. They all seemed shocked to see him, and one of them shot a look at him before heading back and over to another room to talk so somebody. A minute or so later, the woman re-emerged, this time with another woman in tow: a woman of average height with sandy hair and a sharp gaze.

"You. Child." She said abruptly, forcing Greg to look at her.

"Yeah?" He asked, still out of breath from his run.

"Your name?"

He fumbled around a bit before answering. "Greg Hathaway."

She wordlessly stepped over to a computer and tapped keys for a little bit before looking back up. "I see. It seems you've just registered recently. Let's see if we can find you a starter."

Following her into the stockroom, he looked around the room very anxiously. The place had been practically picked clean, probably by prospective trainers whose alarm clocks actually went off…

After a while, she fished two devices Greg recognized as Pokéballs. She held them out to him.

"Choose. The one in my left hand has a Pichu in it while the other has an Eevee. Choose wisely, for whichever you pick will be your partner on the journey. There'll be no going back."

"Uh…"

"Oh," she interjected. "And don't even think about saying both. It's one or the other."

Greg had to think on this one. On one hand, he could evolve Eevee into one of eight different kinds of Pokémon. On the other hand, he would have to choose that wisely, as there was no going back. There was also the fact that he had a thing for electric Pokémon. They had always fascinated him. Which made him wonder about the possibility of a Jolteon. After considerable thought, he chose the one...

…on the left.

Without any hesitation, the woman put back the unchosen ball and gave the chosen one to him. After a bit of paperwork signing and a photo, he got his trainers' license, ready to go. As he was walking out, though, the Pichu let itself out of its ball.

A look of realization hit the woman immediately. "Right, _that_ one was the one that hated Pokéballs. I forgot."

Before she could say anything further, the tiny mouse leaped on the boy's shoulder and made its way to his blond hair before delivering a decent albeit unintentional shock.

"Oh, did I mention that you needed something to redirect that electricity?"

Greg was still twitching " _Now_ you tell me…"

Greg left the lab with Pokédex, Pokégear, and rubber-insulated backpack in tow. As toasty as he still was from his friend's "greeting", he was still thrilled for the adventure ahead.

 _ **And so, one journey begins, as others continue!**_


	6. Drowned in Darkness

They just stood there. The bags just stood there, mocking him. From now on, this would no longer be his room. The space around him would become just another space, perhaps for some other family to move into. He couldn't imagine what the bags were saying, but then again, what shape was he in to imagine anything after him and his mother's brush with death the previous night?

Ralphie hadn't been too terribly shocked to realize just how serious his mom had been about moving. In fact, on one level, she didn't blame her. It would take a lifetime to get away from the sounds of screaming, collapsing rubble, and groans of agony that would pepper their dreams from this point on. Still, there was that stubborn little shred of innocence that was clung to, just in the back of his mind. There was just a shred of him that's the one to become a Pokémon Master.

Using the last reserves of his will, he took one last glance around the room. Very small, but more than spacious enough for him, he had been born in it, literally. There had been stains from his entire life, from claw marks that decorated the ceiling, thanks to an incident involving a rogue Sandshrew to the bar marks on his bed from the time he snuck a Charmander into the house and nearly burnt it down. This wasn't just his home base. It was his _home_. He could scarcely imagine sleeping anywhere else.

Upon circling his line of sight back to his bags, a flare of anger rose up inside him, and he unleashed a kick containing all the force he can muster at those bags. What scared him was that he did this without a word, or sound. He wasn't even sure exactly what he was mad about. It could've been everything, or it could have been nothing. He didn't understand. What was happening to him?

"Ralphie, are all of your bags packed?" His mom called from downstairs. Her voice sounded chipper. He didn't need to be a psychologist to know that she was putting on an act. It was a nice little display, designed so that she can keep his spirits up. She'd used it only one other time before.

He mindlessly took his bags and walked downstairs, but not before passing by a mirror placed in the hallway leading to the stairs. He looked just as much like a zombie as he felt _._

 _How fitting._ The thought echoed throughout his mind. _I should be dead anyway._

They were in the car before either of them even knew it. Did his mother even know where they were going? She hadn't actually mentioned where she wanted to move. In fact, after a certain point, Ralphie began to see the same scenery over and over again. When he finally got up the nerve to ask where they were going, his mom's head hit the steering wheel, leaving the car to echo with a honk that scattered various flocks for miles out. Within minutes, they were both crying profusely. They were both thinking the same thing. _Why am I still alive?_

 **Okay, so this chapter was dark (and short), and I couldn't find a proper "jumping off" point after it. Hey, that's the life of a writer for you. Until next time!**


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